Middle age: leisurely life in the entertainment industry

"The Tuner" is a feature film directed by French director Olivier Trenet. It lasts about 14 minutes. It is full of suspense and reversals. It has won the French César Award for Best Short Film and the Luwen International Award. Film Festival Best Short Film Award.

Later, Indian director Sriram Raghavan adapted it into a two-hour comedy suspense film, which was staged in mainland China and achieved good results of nearly 300 million box office.

Yu Dongqing is planning to move this micro film.

After hearing Yu Dongqing narrate the entire plot, the two girls' eyes widened, and even Yu Tongtong, who had never been interested in her father's movie making, listened with interest.

I asked Yu Dongqing to explain some things that I didn’t understand twice.

"Wow, brother-in-law, that's great! It's even better than the movie "Leave Me"!" Meiliang said excitedly.

"I'll help you find equipment, venues and actors. You must make this short film a success!" Elena is also eager to give it a try.

The film only lasts for more than ten minutes and has four main actors. Meili and Elena play two female roles respectively, the hostess and dancer in the play, and the rest are played by two male actors - the male protagonists, the mixer and the coffee shop. Just the boss.

"Brother-in-law, you should continue to play the male lead." Meiliang said.

Yu Dongqing shook his head.

He plans to set this film in Venice, and it would be inappropriate for the protagonist to have an oriental face.

"Don't worry, I'll find an actor to make sure you're satisfied." Elena said.

In this case, Yu Dongqing didn't worry too much and took Meili and Yu Tongtong to have fun in Venice.

Feed the pigeons in St. Mark's Square, take photos with the Bridge of Sighs on the Slavic Embankment, and go to Burano Island to watch the production of stained glass. It is very leisurely to take a boat and wander in the canals of the city every day.

Elena is relatively busy. On the one hand, she sometimes accompanies Yu Dongqing and the others on their trips, and on the other hand, she also has to worry about the preparations for the movie.

The camera equipment was quickly rented, and the shooting location was ready. Most of the scenes could be shot at home, and there was also a piano at home that could be used as a prop.

Finding actors is a bit of a hassle, so Elena announced on the Internet that she was temporarily recruiting two actors to star in the short film.

Unexpectedly, there were still many people who signed up. Yu Dongqing quickly selected the actor who played the role of the coffee shop owner - his name was Antonio. He had acted before but was unknown and later changed his profession to work as a waiter in a coffee shop in Venice. He was listed as 2000 on the recruitment notice. Attracted by the reward of Euros, come and sign up.

Yu Dongqing saw that his fat figure and slight baldness were very similar to the character's image and temperament in his mind.

He also had acting experience, so he was asked to practice a few random scenes and it felt good, so he agreed.

Now the difficulty lies in choosing Adrian, the male lead. He is the soul of this drama. In the evening, Yu Dongqing returned to Elena's house and auditioned several actors who came to apply. Yu Dongqing was not satisfied.

The next morning, after Yu Dongqing got up and had breakfast, he was ready to continue playing. Elena ran down from upstairs and said excitedly: "Just now Robert's agent contacted me and said that he was very interested in this role and wanted to play it. This movie!"

Robbert?

Seeing that Yu Dongqing was a little confused, Elena explained that Roberto is a very outstanding actor in Italy. One of the movies he starred in also won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival!

Yeah?

That acting is quite good.

"Where's the reward? Have you said it yet?" Meiliang interjected.

For such an actor, he probably can't afford a salary of 2,000 euros, right?

"I haven't discussed it with his agent in detail yet. I'll call him right away." Elena replied.

Sure enough, the other party's price was at least 200,000 euros!

Damn it

Two hundred thousand euros, nearly 1.5 million yuan.

The overall budget of Yu Dongqing's movie is only 100,000 yuan!

This is a typical literary film. It was well received but not a box office hit. It turns out that the time and space director didn't make any money either.

"100,000! 100,000 euros! If he is willing, he can come to the audition." Yu Dongqing decided to make his own effort.

But I didn't expect that the other party would not agree. The price of 200,000 yuan is a lot of money!

In a slightly arrogant tone, Robert's agent said that Robert is a Golden Lion Award winner. He thought your script was very interesting, so he wanted to act in it. It happened to be a bit busy recently.

Otherwise, how could you watch a short film of less than 15 minutes?

Damn it!

This attitude?

Yu Dongqing refused on the spot.

Yu Dongqing and the other three have been in Venice for five days. According to the original plan, they will return to China. However, they have to film a movie temporarily, so they have to stay for a few days. However, they have been unable to find a suitable starring role, which makes him very helpless.

Or stop filming?

Or play in person?

Nico was sitting in front of the piano in the cafe, looking at his phone.

After playing for more than two hours at a stretch, my fingers were already sore.

Also, there is a ten-minute break for a cheap cup of coffee.

While drinking coffee, he was scrolling through his phone and accidentally saw a message about a photo of an extra. Although the story didn't have a specific plot, it made him even more interested. The protagonist's character seemed a bit similar to his.

I have been playing the piano since I was a child, but my life was dull and a bit depressed.

Of course, there are differences. He is not a talented pianist like the protagonist Adrian. Bo has never participated in the Enstein Piano Competition, let alone failed.

Also, he didn’t pretend to be a blind tuner like the protagonist.

Life is so ordinary. I come to this cafe early in the morning and work until night, nearly twelve hours. Ten years have passed and nothing has changed.

Just like the cup of inferior Venetian coffee I often drink, it is tasteless.

Should it change?

Nick looked at the story carefully again. He believed that he could play it well because he felt like he was playing himself.

"Nico! Why are you dazed? It's time to start!" Without looking back, Nick knew that it was the owner of the cafe, that very rude man.

"Mr. Chris" Nick turned his head and looked at the pot-bellied man: "I would like to take half a day off."

"Ask for leave?"

"Yes, I want to try this." Nick took out his phone.

Looking at the text on the web page, Chris suddenly laughed. If there weren't customers in the cafe, he would have laughed even more.

"Nick, you want to make a movie? Do you still have the ability? I advise you to give up. Playing the piano here is your main business."

"But I want to try." Nick stood up and walked out: "Also, boss, you haven't given me a salary increase in five years."

Yu Dongqing met Nick at night, and they played all day long before coming back at night.

If he can't find a suitable actor today, he decides to give up.

When I returned to Elena's house, I saw Nick at the door of the yard, looking a little restrained.

After explaining his purpose, Elena enthusiastically let him enter the courtyard.

But when I heard that he had no performance experience and was just a piano player in a coffee shop, I refused.

"How can that be done? We want to submit this film to the film festival!"

"I think I can give it a try." Nick was rejected by Elena on the spot. He felt a little embarrassed, but he did not give up.

"Let him try it." Yu Dongqing next to him spoke.

Because he felt that this unshaven, somewhat melancholy man was the tuner in his mind!

Thanks to book friend 20220716204840295 for your monthly vote.

PS, there is a recommendation today, so I will update it and post four chapters in total. I hope book friends can read it. It would be better if you can vote for it.